The invention disclosed herein relates to a method and apparatus for separating a viscous flowable paste material, such as baker's dough, from a large mass of material into smaller masses of predetermined volumes appropriate for subsequent baking into bread, etc.
When flowable, viscous paste material is to be divided and dispensed from a large mass of the material into smaller measured volumes of the material, it has been common practice to urge the material from a supply of material through a conduit system to the area where it is to be subdivided and dispensed, and by repeatedly opening and closing a valve, the material moved through the conduit system can be divided from the oncoming material and dispensed to an awaiting container, conveyor, etc. When baker's dough is being divided and dispensed it is difficult to handle the dough because the dough tends to cling to the surfaces of the equipment that contact the dough, yet it is necessary to maintain the apparatus used for dividing and dispensing the dough in a clean condition during the dividing and dispensing function without permitting an accumulation of dough in or about the equipment. Also, since baker's dough tends to rise after it has been mixed and before the baking process, it is desirable to divide and dispense the dough under conditions which tend to maintain the dough in a constant density, so that when constant volumes of dough have been subdivided and dispensed, each subdivided mass of dough will be of approximately equal weight, and the subdivided masses of dough will be received in the baker's oven at substantially uniform volumes and weights for producing uniform products.